


Rosemary & Strawberries

by Harker13, Masamune7



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Aphrodisiacs, Grief/Mourning, John Watson Thinks Sherlock Holmes is Dead, M/M, Scents & Smells, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 13:27:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20967305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harker13/pseuds/Harker13, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masamune7/pseuds/Masamune7
Summary: Kinktober 07: Scent.It's been almost two years since Sherlock's death, maybe it's time for John to openly express one of Sherlock's most tender eccentricities.





	Rosemary & Strawberries

_“John, would you like to try a new approach? – _Ella’s voice was calm and inviting_ – “It’s been almost two years John … it is an unusual and could help you trigger … sorry, give more clarity to a few suppressed thoughts”._

_“About me?”_ – asked John not daring to face her.

_“About your relationship with Sherlock?”_

_“I didn’t have…” – _he rushed to correct her.

_“The label it had is not important anymore” – _interrupted him_ – “would you like to give it a try?”_

John sighed … what else could he loose?

_“Sure … what do I need to do?”_

_“Describe something that you believe only you could notice about Sherlock Holmes…”_

He remained silent for a few minutes. He opened his mouth twice but closed it immediately after realizing he was about to disclose a hidden part of his “association”, as newspapers used to put it, with Sherlock.

_“His hair smelled like rosemary and strawberries... a scent I’ve never smelled again.” – _Ella scribbled some notes and kept listening.

_“After his death… I found myself going from store to store trying to find the exact lotion, shampoo, soap, gel… or anything that could bring back that scent …_

_He always took showers or baths late at night, when he thought I was sleeping, He used to let the tap running until the bathroom was full of steam; he seemed to like that warmth … something so different of what people thought of him. At the end, everyone looked at him like some sort of cold blooded reptile, incapable of feeling anything … but at night, when everything was silent and he didn’t need to be the Sherlock Holmes the world expected … he used to take long baths … sometimes singing … sometimes just doing that stuff … he made … his mind palace thing … letting the steam and scent pamper him away from duties and accusations…”_

Ella could’ve sworn his voice cracked a little.

_“That smell of rosemary and … strawberries, let me know he was human. A man in pain, who I couldn’t save … and for which my heart aches every … day. _

_No matter how much a mourn, how much I grieve, I cannot get back to that scent”_

His eyes started to get teary

_“I cannot recall how it felt to feel accompanied, and not so… miserable, just by knowing he was taking a shower downstairs …” – _he kept fighting the tears.

_“Did you ever let him know?”_ – she asked.

_“No, why would he like a pathetic man like me who craved for - the genius - at nights, while feeling lonely and tiny? … he would’ve been sick at the sole idea of having me a few steps away, reaching for … myself._ _Dreaming about joining him during …”_ \- he got too overwhelmed for a second - “_I used to think I craved to hold him… but, the more I think about it, the more shame I feel to admit I’m the one who craved to be held …_

_At the end, I couldn’t find anything to get back the scent … it was never what he used, it was just him … it’s always just been him.”_

He looked away at the exact moment one lonely tear threat to leave his eye.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
